Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess

Volume 1 First edition 2019 by Thinkers Publishing Copyright © 2019 Alexander Ipatov

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D/2019/13730/1 Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess

Volume 1

Alexander Ipatov

Thinkers Publishing 2019 Key to Symbols

! a good move ⩲ White stands slightly better ? a weak move ⩱ Black stands slightly better !! an excellent move ± White has a serious advantage ?? a blunder ∓ Black has a serious advantage !? an interesting move +- White has a decisive advantage ?! a dubious move -+ Black has a decisive advantage □ only move → with an attack N novelty ↑ with an initiative ⟳ lead in development ⇆ with counterplay ⨀ zugzwang ∆ with the idea of = equality ⌓ better is ∞ unclear position ≤ worse is © with compensation for the + check sacrificed material # mate Table of Contents

Key to Symbols ...... 4 Preface ...... 7

PART I – Sidelines In Mainstream Openings...... 11

Chapter 1 – Early Deviations in the Ruy Lopez...... 13 Chapter 2 – Later Deviations in the Ruy Lopez...... 47 Chapter 3 – Scotch Game...... 109 Chapter 4 – Caro-Kann Defense ...... 131 Chapter 5 – Rauzer Variation ...... 153 Chapter 6 – Philidor Defense...... 163 Chapter 7 – Nimzo-Indian Defense...... 177

PART II – Systems...... 195

Chapter 8 – Double Fianchetto ...... 197 Chapter 9 – 1.d4 d6 ...... 237 Chapter 10 – Malakhov System...... 273

PART III – Showing Ambitions ...... 297

PART IV – Early Surprises...... 325

Final Thoughts ...... 359 To my family Preface

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” Mark Twain

Thanks to the democratization of knowledge following technological progress, nowadays everyone knows chess openings. It is getting increasingly harder to ob- tain an opening advantage against a well-prepared opponent, even against a non- professional player who knows his lines well. Some players are stubborn and try to be better prepared than the competition by analyzing deeper (up to move 30 or even further), using stronger engines (e.g. ChessBase Cloud), getting access to cor- respondence and engine databases or by simply memorizing lines from fashionable openings books. In my opinion, for the most part it all comes to down to pure mem- orization and, hence, an abundance of deadly drawish positions or repetitions right out of the opening if both players are up to the task. Super-tournaments are noto- rious for this. Additionally, the game loses its creative aspect and becomes less fun.

I believe that devoting most of the training time to studying mainstream theory is wrong. First, chess is not fun anymore. How many moves does one have to play (memorize) to be finally on his own? Second, opportunity cost – what other chess knowledge could you have acquired in that time? Third, knowledge doesn’t stay the same – if you want to be ahead of the curve in opening preparation, you have to be constantly monitoring new games on a daily basis, updating your software and hardware to gain stronger engines, and reading all relevant published literature.

But the competition is doing exactly the same! It reminds me of numerous visits to the old dining hall at my university. There were two tables with food. One table had ingredients to make a burger. The other table had healthier food. Whenever I en- tered the dining hall for lunch, there was one big line and always to that same table. The latter one with healthy food, you might think? No. People were lining up to get burgers whereas the healthy table had no line at all! Isn’t it the same with opening preparation, where there is one clear unhealthy trend? I keep wondering why the majority of players, from total beginners to strong grandmasters, fall into this trap. Learning main lines and staying up to date takes an enormous amount of time, since nearly everyone is doing the very same thing. It is like a rat race, where you always have to run. Couldn’t that time be used more wisely by spending it on enhancing one’s general chess understanding -- studying classics, endgames, typical pawn structures and plans, and solving tactics? Do not get me wrong. I do not say that one doesn’t have to know openings at all. Of course not. The message that I’m trying to convey is that one needs to be smarter and avoid following the trend of memorizing fashionable lines until move 30 or so. As a chess professional, I know a number of accomplished players whose strength significantly drops once they are out of book and have to start thinking on their own early on. Much the same can be said about amateur players – they play flawlessly when they follow their preparation, but once they are on their own won- ders start to happen. This brings me to an important distinction that I want to draw between “in theory” and “in practice”.

What I suggest is to dedicate most of the training time to improving general knowledge as discussed above, and less to studying main lines. As far as openings are concerned, there is a plethora of less studied or even totally neglected lines that can be studied at home and successfully implemented over the board. However, it is important to have several such lines, otherwise it will become easy to prepare against you. The whole point is to be predictably unpredictable. While preparing against you, the majority of players will simply turn on the engine, smile (“Eh, it is +0.7, I am much better here!”) and stop preparing. Some of them will follow the first line for a few more moves and then stop. And this is exactly what we want!

Also, rare lines imply less theory, which subsequently means that one doesn’t have to memorize as much as in the mainstream theory. For example, if your opponent plays fast, you can anticipate that he has likely prepared the first or second line shown by the engine. So if you understand that position well enough, you can play some other move not shown by the computer! Your opponent, likely out of book and without deep knowledge of that line, will burn some time on the clock and start making inferior decisions later on. However, sometimes, you might get unlucky – your opponent will play well no matter how hard you try to get him out of theory. This is the risk that I am willing to take in my games. Are you? If so, keep reading.

This book is about the practical approach to the game of chess. It shaped me as a player and now I would like to share my philosophy with you. My objective is to combat several generally accepted misconceptions, such as a) only studying open- ing theory will make you a better player, b) one should always follow the first or second line shown by Komodo or Stockfish, and finally, c) that “in theory” is equiv- alent to “over the board”. The last fallacy is especially dangerous because it implies that players will keep on making the best moves over the board, and therefore side- lines should never be played as the opponent will always find a way to retain and convert the advantage. That is in theory. In practice, however, many players will feel like fish out of water once they end up in a position that is objectively better for them but one that they have never analyzed. Overall, based on my experience as a chess professional, I strongly believe that the above-mentioned fallacies do not hold true empirically.

Most of the material in this book is based on my own offbeat opening repertoire from Black's perspective. The book is divided into four parts. Part I covers sidelines in the mainstream openings where I take a major opening and analyze one or sev- eral sidelines. This is the most theoretical part of the book, where I share a signifi- cant amount of original thoughts and analyses that constitute my opening reper- toire. Part II discusses the concept that I refer to as systems. It still involves theory, but less so in comparison to Part I. What I am trying to convey in this part is the “schematic thinking” – where you think in terms of plans and typical ideas. Part III takes one step further in abstraction – it analyzes notable modern games where one player showed ambition early on in the game and it worked out well for him. Part IV covers the so-called “early surprises” where early on in the game a player implemented a move that shocked his opponent. Perhaps the most recent example is my game against Sam Shankland where the audacious 1.d4 Na6 2.c4 e5!?N was seen.

All parts cover openings. Therefore, you may see various lines of the same opening being covered in different parts of the book. I did so to contrast different ap- proaches. I’d like to apologize that not every single offbeat opening line is covered in the book – this would be impossible as the number of unconventional lines that you can play is infinite and is limited only by the degree of your creativity and bold- ness. Therefore, my choice was purely subjective – I selected the games and lines that were in my opening repertoire, that I was familiar with or simply the ones that inspired me. Finally, for some games or opening lines it was difficult to decide in which part they should be covered. Hence, my choice was also subjective.

My message to you is that modern chess can be viewed and played differently. Therefore, I ask you to see this book in terms of the big picture without bogging down in possible small inconsistencies – such as, for example, the arrangement of the different parts.

Thank you for reading this book and let the journey begin!

Alexander Ipatov November 2018

Part I

Sidelines In Mainstream Openings

The first part is by far the theoretically heaviest one in the book. It gives a broad introduction to a number of sidelines in various openings that consti- tute the core of my offbeat opening repertoire with Black.

Early Deviations in the Ruy Lopez

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 14 Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess (Volume 1)

Chapter Guide

Chapter 1 – Early Deviations in the Ruy Lopez

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5

1) 3...Bb4 (Meier – Carlsen 2018) ...... 15

2) 3…a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4

2.1: 6th move alternatives (Vachier Lagrave – Vallejo Pons 2017) ...... 18 2.2: 6.d4 alternative (Mista – Vallejo Pons 2017)...... 21 2.3: 7…exd4 (Wang Hao – Vallejo Pons 2017)...... 25 2.4: 7…Nxb3 8.axb3 f6 9.-- (Murey – Agdestein 1986)...... 28 2.5: 7…Nxb3 8.axb3 f6 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Qe2 (Beliavsky – Agdestein 1989)...... 35 2.6: 7…Nxb3 8.axb3 f6 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Nh4 (Dominguez – Ivanchuk 2016) ...... 41 Part I. Chapter 1 (Early Deviations in the Ruy Lopez) 15

1) 3...Bb4 (Meier – Carlsen 2018)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 Nf3± Black doesn't have enough compensation.

B) Playing in a gambit style isn't ap- propriate here: 5... d5? 6. Qa4 Bb6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Qxc6+ Bd7 9. Qxd5 Ne7 10. Qxe5 0-0 11. d4 and Black is down way too much material while the b6-bishop is left out of play.

Position after: 3... Bb4 C) 5... Bb6 6. Nc4⩲

At first sight, this seems like a dull move: it doesn't pin, it doesn't check and it doesn't provoke anything. How- ever, this move has an interesting un- derlying idea if White keeps playing natural moves. Magnus Carlsen has played 3... Bf8-b4 in three rapid and blitz games against grandmasters and Position after: 6. Nc4⩲ won all of them. The downside of this variation is that White can obtain a There is little to be said about this pleasant human advantage in a position. White is simply better as he straightforward way. can grab Black's bishop pair any time.

4. 0-0 4... Nge7 5. c3

I think that White should play 4. c3 5. d4 is another human reaction, but I Ba5 and here 5. Na3! directly going think that Black is doing all right after after the bishop pair. [5. 0-0 transposes 5... exd4 6. Nxd4 0-0 7. Nc3 d6. into 4. 0-0 Nge7 5. c3 Ba5.] 5... Ba5 A) 5... Nge7?! 6. Nc4 0-0 7. Nxa5 Nxa5 8. Nxe5 d5 9. d3 Qd6 10. (see diagram next page) 16 Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess (Volume 1)

6... Bb6 7. d4 Ng6 8. Bg5! Provoking ...f7-f6, which weakens the a2-g8 diag- onal. 8... f6 9. Be3 0-0 10. Nbd2⩲

Position after: 5... Ba5

6. d4 Position after: 10. Nbd2⩲

A) 6. Na3 here it is not as convincing Black struggles to finish his queenside as earlier. 6... 0-0 7. Nc4 d5 8. Nxa5 development. Nxa5 9. Nxe5 dxe4 10. d4 f6 11. Ng4 6... exd4 7. cxd4 d5!=

Position after: 11. Ng4

Balogh, C (2608) – Sedlak, N (2550) Hungary 2011. 11... c5! 12. Ne3 Position after: 7... d5!= [White cannot take 12. dxc5? as it loses the g4-knight: 12... Qxd1 13. Rxd1 White has played several natural Bxg4–+] 12... a6 13. Be2 cxd4 14. moves in a row, but the position is al- Qxd4 Qxd4 15. cxd4 Be6= Black con- ready equal! trols the key d5-square. Jansa, V (2495) – Kholmov, R (2550) Trencianske Tepli- 8. Bxc6+ ce 1979. A) 8. e5 allows Black to counter-attack B) 6. Qa4! is another way to claim a the White center with ...f7-f6. 8... Bg4 pleasant edge out of the opening. 9. h3 Part I. Chapter 1 (Early Deviations in the Ruy Lopez) 17

Position after: 9. h3 Position after: 17... Bxc7↑

9... Bxf3!? [9... Bh5 10. Nc3 0-0 11. 8... Nxc6 9. exd5 Qxd5 10. Nc3 g4 Bg6 12. Nh4 Bb6 13. Be3 f6 14. exf6 Rxf6⇆ Karjakin, S (2771) – Carl- sen, M (2881) Flor & Fjaere 2014] 10. Qxf3 0-0 11. Qg4 [11. Qd3 f6 12. exf6 Rxf6= White needs to take care of his d4-pawn.] 11... Qc8! 12. Rd1 Bb6⇆ The d4-pawn needs protection.

B) 8. exd5 Qxd5 9. Qa4 0-0 10. Nc3 Qh5 11. Bf4 Bb6 Position after: 10. Nc3

10... Bxc3!

That is the secret idea behind 3...Bb4. The bishop was waiting for the b1- knight to step onto the c3-square, planning to eliminate it right away. Position after: 11... Bb6 11. bxc3 0-0 12. Bxc6 Nxc6 13. d5 Ne7 14. d6 Ng6 15. dxc7 Nxf4 16. Qxf4 Qc5 17. Black has a beautiful hold on the light Rac1 Bxc7↑ squares. Nimzowitsch and Petrosian would be delighted. (see analysis diagram next column) 12. Bf4 Bg4! Black has the bishop pair in an open position, Grigoriants, S (2568) – Carl- Not giving White even a chance of sen, M (2834) chess.com 2018. grabbing the initiative. 18 Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess (Volume 1)

13. Bxc7 Rac8 14. Bg3 Na5©

(see diagram on the right)

Meier, G (2647) – Carlsen, M (2834) chess.com 2018.

Position after: 14... Na5©

Conclusion

his is perhaps not the best line to a decent weapon in rapid and blitz play more than once in classical events. Ttournaments, but it can become

2) 3…a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4

2.1: 6th move alternatives An educated chess player, upon seeing this position, will likely claim that this is 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. anti-chess and that exposing readers to Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Na5 lines like this one in the book is a sin. I would very likely agree with such a hy- pothetical comment. However, I can say the following in my defense: it works in practice and definitely doesn't lose on the spot! I recommended this line to a couple of my titled friends who followed my advice and equalized against 2500-rated opponents in classi- cal tournaments. So what did I tell them? I just said that Black's plan is to Position after: 5... Na5 grab the bishop pair and survive the Part I. Chapter 1 (Early Deviations in the Ruy Lopez) 19 opening stage. That's it. If White doesn't punish us right away, then we will enter the middlegame with the bishop pair in our hands. The rest of the material devoted to this variation is filled with cumbersome and often un- necessary lines just to prove this simple point!

As a side note, I'd like to add that one Position after: 7. Nxe5+ of the top players of the time, Mark Taimanov, played this line a whole 10 7... Ke7! times in the 1950s! I would certainly not recommend playing this line that Black is going to solve the "king prob- often in modern times. Intermingle it lem" by playing ...Qd8-e8 followed by with other offbeat variations and ...Ke7-d8 or by simply kicking the please do not make it your main weap- white e5-knight with ...d7-d6 and then on. The same can be said about nearly playing ...Ke7-f7-g8. all of the lines covered in the book -- none of them constitutes a bullet-proof 8. d4 opening repertoire. Objectively, there are holes, but -- as I already mentioned Black's position is so good that he has in the introduction -- it is one thing to even a choice here: to bring the king to suspect that a certain line is not com- the kingside or the queenside. 8. Nc3 pletely sound and quite another thing is met by 8... Qe8! as we have just dis- to prove that in an over-the-board cussed. game. 8... d6 6. Bxf7+?! 8... Nf6 is equally interesting. This sacrifice looks more dangerous than it actually is.

6. Nxe5?! Nxb3 7. axb3 Qe7 8. d4 d6 9. Nf3 Qxe4+ Black has the bishop pair and will have no problems finish- ing his kingside development.

6... Kxf7 7. Nxe5+ Position after: 8... Nf6 20 Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess (Volume 1)

A) 9. Qf3?! Bb7 10. b4? Nc4 11. Qe2 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nxe4 13. f3 Ke8!∓ followed by either ...Qd8- h4+ or ...Ne4-g5 depending on White's move. Rabar, B – Taimanov, M Belgrade 1956.

B) Trying to punish Black directly Position after: 10... Kf7 doesn't work: 9. Bg5 Qe8 10. Qf3 d6 11. Qc3? dxe5 12. dxe5 Kf7–+ Nc4∓] 11... Bb7 12. Nc3 Be7 13. e5 Paramonov, D (2332) – Orlov, V dxe5 14. dxe5 Nd5 15. Qf3+ Kg8 16. (2444) St Petersburg 2000. Bxe7 [⌓ 16. Nc5!? would have of- fered White better chances. Black is OK C) 9. 0-0 Qe8 10. Nc3 Kd8 there nevertheless.] 16... Nxe7 17. Qg4 Qf8 18. a4 h5 19. Qe6+ Qf7 20. Qxf7+ Kxf7 21. axb5 axb5 22. Nxb5 Rhc8⩱ Nezhmetdinov, R – Furman, S Gorky 1954.

9... Kf7

Position after: 10... Kd8

11. Re1 [≤ 11. Nd5 Bb7 12. Bg5 Kc8!∓ The black king is safe.] 11... Bb7 12. Nd3 Kc8∞ White certainly has compensation but I find playing with Black easier.

Position after: 9... Kf7 9. Nd3 10. 0-0 9. Bg5+ Nf6 10. Nd3 Kf7 10. Qf3+ Nf6 11. e5 Bb7 12. Qf4 (see analysis diagram next column) Be7 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. 0-0 Rf8© For just one pawn, Black has the bishop 11. 0-0 [11. e5? dxe5 12. dxe5 is refut- pair, the open f-file and a better devel- ed by 12... Qd5! 13. 0-0 Bb7 14. f3 opment.